(1) Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses to applicants who meet specified criteria and provide the department with the required information. Existing law requires the department to establish that the applicant's presence in the United States is authorized under federal law. Under existing federal law, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has issued a directive allowing certain undocumented individuals who meet several key criteria for relief from removal from the United States or from entering into removal proceedings to be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of 2 years, subject to renewal, and who will be eligible to apply for work authorization. This bill would allow persons who provide satisfactory proof, as described, that their presence in the United States is authorized under federal law, but who are not eligible for a social security account number, to receive an original driver's license from the Department of Motor Vehicles if they meet all other qualifications for licensure. (2) Existing law prohibits a person from renting a motor vehicle to another unless the person to whom the vehicle is rented is a validly licensed driver, as specified, and the person renting to that driver has inspected the person's driver's license and compared the signature on the license with the signature of the driver written in his or her presence. This bill would delete the requirement that the signature of the driver be written in his or her presence and would allow the person renting the vehicle to instead compare the photograph on the driver's license of the person with the person to whom the vehicle is to be rented. The bill would also exempt, a "rental company," as defined, from these requirements if the rental is subject to the terms of a membership agreement that allows the renter to gain physical access to a car without a key through use of a code, key card, or by other means that allow the car to be accessed at a remote location or at a business location of the rental company outside of that location's regular hours of operation.
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Existing federal law authorizes any authorized immigration officer to issue an immigration detainer that serves to advise another law enforcement agency that the federal department seeks custody of an alien presently in the custody of that agency, for the purpose of arresting and removing the alien. Existing federal law provides that the detainer is a request that the agency advise the department, prior to release of the alien, in order for the department to arrange to assume custody, in situations when gaining immediate physical custody is either impracticable or impossible. This bill would prohibit a law enforcement official, as defined, from detaining an individual on the basis of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold after that individual becomes eligible for release from criminal custody, unless, at the time that the individual becomes eligible for release from criminal custody, certain conditions are met.
Under existing law, classified employees of school districts and community college districts subject to layoff as a result of the expiration of a specially funded program at the end of a school year are required to be given written notice on or before April 29 informing them of certain rights. Existing law also requires that notice be given not less than 45 days before the effective layoff date if the termination date of a specially funded program is other than June 30, or if classified employees are subject to layoff as a result of a bona fide reduction or elimination of a service performed by a department. This bill would instead require that written notice be given to a classified employee of a school district or community college district subject to layoff not less than 60 days before the effective layoff date if the termination date of a specially funded program is other than June 30, or if a classified employee is subject to layoff as a result of a bona fide reduction or elimination of a service performed by a department. To the extent that this bill would impose new duties on school districts and community college districts, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Commencing January 1, 2014, existing law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , requires a health insurance issuer that offers coverage in the small group or individual market to ensure that such coverage includes the essential health benefits package, as defined. PPACA requires each state to, by January 1, 2014, establish an American Health Benefit Exchange that facilitates the purchase of qualified health plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. PPACA defines a qualified health plan as a plan that, among other requirements, provides an essential health benefits package. Existing state law creates the California Health Benefit Exchange (the Exchange) to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers by January 1, 2014. Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime.. Existing law requires health care service plan contracts to cover various benefits. This bill would require an individual or small group health care service plan contract issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2014, to cover essential health benefits, which would be defined to include the health benefits covered by particular benchmark plans. The bill would prohibit treatment limits imposed on these benefits from exceeding the corresponding limits imposed by the benchmark plans and would generally prohibit a plan from making substitutions of the benefits required to be covered. The bill would specify that these provisions apply regardless of whether the contract is offered inside or outside the Exchange but would provide that they do not apply to grandfathered plans, specialized plans, or Medicare supplement plans, as specified. The bill would prohibit a health care service plan from issuing, delivering, renewing, offering, selling, or marketing a plan contract as compliant with the federal essential health benefits requirement satisfies the bill's requirements. The bill would authorize the Department of Managed Health Care to adopt emergency regulations implementing these provisions until March 1, 2016, and would enact other related provisions. These provisions would only be implemented to the extent essential health benefits are required pursuant to PPACA. The bill would provide that it shall become operative only if SB 951 is also enacted. Because a willful violation of the bill's provisions with respect to health care service plans would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires a health care service plan to submit a block transfer filing to the department at least 75 days prior to the termination of its contract with a provider group or a general acute care hospital and to provide 60 days' notice of the contract's termination to enrollees assigned to the terminated provider. Existing law specifies that a health care service plan is not required to send this notice to enrollees of a preferred provider organization unless the terminated provider is a general acute care hospital. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2013, make these provisions inapplicable with respect to a contract between a plan and a provider that provides benefits to enrollees and subscribers through a preferred provider arrangement. The bill would instead require the plan under those contracts to notify the department at least 30 days prior to terminating a contract with a provider group or general acute care hospital where the termination would affect 800 or more covered lives who have obtained services from the provider group or hospital within the preceding 6 months. Where the termination would affect 2,000 or more covered lives who have obtained services from the provider group or hospital within the preceding 6 months, the bill would require the plan to send a written notice at least 10 days prior to the termination date to all of those covered lives, as specified. Because a willful violation of these requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Under existing law, a health insurer may contract with providers for alternative rates of payment. Existing law requires those insurers to file a policy with the department describing how the insurer facilitates the continuity of care for new insureds under group policies receiving services for an acute condition from a noncontracting provider. Existing law also requires those health insurers to, at the request of an insured, arrange for the completion of covered services by a terminated provider if the insured is undergoing treatment for certain conditions, as specified. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2013, require a health insurer to notify the department at least 30 days prior to terminating a contract with a provider group or general acute care hospital to provide services at alternative rates of payment if the termination would affect 800 or more covered lives who have obtained services from the provider group or hospital within the preceding 6 months. Where that termination would affect 2,000 or more covered lives who have obtained services from the provider group or hospital within the preceding 6 months, the bill would, commencing July 1, 2013, require the insurer to send a written notice to all of those covered lives at least 10 days prior to the termination date, as specified. Existing law requires disability insurance policies to include a disclosure form that contains specified information, including the principal benefits and coverage of the policy, the exceptions, reductions, and limitations that apply to the policy, and a statement, with respect to health insurance policies, describing how participation in the policy may affect the choice of physician, hospital, or health care providers, and describing the extent of financial liability that may be incurred if care is furnished by a nonparticipating provider. With respect to health insurance policies, this bill would require the disclosure form to include additional information, including conditions and procedures for cancellation, rescission, or nonrenewal, a description of the limitations on the insured's choice of provider, and, with respect to insurers that contract for alternate rates of payment, a statement describing the basic method of reimbursement made to its participating providers, as specified. The bill would also require the first page of the disclosure form for health insurance policies to include other specified information. The bill would require a health insurer, medical group, or participating provider that uses or receives financial bonuses or other incentives to provide a written summary of specified information to any requesting person. The bill would make these provisions operative on July 1, 2013. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) Under existing law, the gross weight imposed upon the highway by the wheels on any one axle of a vehicle is prohibited from exceeding 18,000 pounds, except the gross weight on any one axle of a bus is prohibited from exceeding 20,500 pounds. A violation of these requirements is a crime. This bill would provide that these prohibitions do not apply to a transit bus, except as specified. The bill would, until January 1, 2015, prohibit a publicly owned or operated transit system or an operator of a transit system under contract with a publicly owned or operated transit system from procuring through a solicitation process pursuant to which a solicitation is issued on or after January 1, 2013, a transit bus whose weight on any axle exceeds 20,500 pounds, with specified exceptions. The bill would impose a state-mandated local program by imposing new requirements upon transit buses. Existing law requires state agencies to comply with specified procedures when promulgating and adopting administrative regulations. The bill would require state regulatory agencies that are required to promulgate administrative regulations to take into account vehicle weight impacts and the ability of vehicle manufacturers and vehicle operators to comply with laws limiting the weight of vehicles. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The State Teachers' Retirement Law establishes the procedures by which members of the Teachers' Retirement Board are selected. Existing law provides for the election of 3 members of the board by specified members of the Defined Benefit Program and specified participants of the Cash Balance Benefit Program at elections conducted by the board. Existing law also authorizes the Governor to appoint 5 persons to the board, including a person who is either a retired member of the Defined Benefit Program or a retired participant of the Cash Balance Benefit Program. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2016, reduce the number of gubernatorial appointees to 4 by removing the authority of the Governor to appoint a person who is either a retired member of the Defined Benefit Program or a retired participant of the Cash Balance Benefit Program. The bill would instead require that a retired member of the Defined Benefit Program or a retired participant of the Cash Balance Benefit Program be elected to the board, thereby increasing the number of elected members of the board to 4.
(1) Existing law requires each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining any kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide for each needy pupil one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday and authorizes them to use funds made available through any federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision of meals to a pupil, including the federal School Breakfast Program, the federal National School Lunch Program, the federal Summer Food Service Program, the federal Seamless Summer Option, or the state meal program, or to provide those meals at the expense of the school district or county office of education. Existing law exempts charter schools from the laws governing school districts except those of the Charter Schools Act, those establishing minimum age for public school attendance, specified building code regulations, and other specified laws. This bill would require a charter school to provide each needy pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill, among other things, would exclude a charter school that offers only nonclassroom-based instruction or only online instruction from this requirement. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Existing law provides that the civil penalty for each vehicle equipment violation, including failure to properly display a license plate, is the amount established for that violation in the Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedule, except that upon proof of correction, the penalty is reduced to $10. This bill would require that upon proof of correction, the penalty is $25 rather than $10.
Existing law requires the Department of Finance to report annually to the Legislature with regard to tax expenditures, as defined. Existing law requires the report to include specified information. This bill would require the report to include, if available, anticipated revenue loss, as specified. At the time of the submission of the Governor's Budget to the Legislature, existing law requires the Director of Finance to submit to the Legislature total recommended state General Fund expenditures and estimated state General Fund revenues, as specified. This bill would require the report to include, for each tax expenditure exceeding $5,000,000 in annual cost, an estimate of the loss of revenue due to the tax expenditure in the upcoming fiscal year. The bill would also require the State Board of Equalization and the Franchise Tax Board to submit to the Department of Finance and the Legislature, on or before December 1 of each calendar year, a report on the fiscal and tax effect of tax expenditures from sales and use tax, personal income tax, and corporation tax that have an annual revenue loss of at least $5,000,000, as specified.